A match for the golden pineapple…
The Czech national football team has only won three of its seven matches in Group E of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers so far. Nevertheless, the runners-up of the European Championships in 1996 are firmly in the World Cup playoffs. Thus, they have a realistic chance to play in a World Cup for the first time since 2006 in Germany. With a victory over Estonia and a simultaneous defeat of Wales, the Czech Republic would still be in second place, otherwise they would be in Pool B as winners of the Nations League.
In the run-up to the match between the Czech Republic and Estonia, the odds are clearly in favour of the home side at Prague’s Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena.
The Czech Republic have won all four international matches against Estonia so far and already celebrated a convincing 6:2 away victory in the first leg, when the match had to be moved to neutral ground in Poland at short notice. Accordingly, there is a lot of value in betting that the Šilhavý team will not let anything go to waste in front of their home crowd in the second leg in Prague.
We recommend betting on the home side to win by at least a three-goal difference against Estonia (AHC -2.5).
Czech Republic – Statistics & current form
The Czech national football team was part of Czechoslovakia up to and including the 1992 European Championship, before the Czechs sent their first independent national team to the EURO 1996 in England. The legendary generation around Karel Poborský almost started from scratch.
In the surprising final of the 1996 European Championship, however, the Czechs were defeated by the German team with a golden goal and had to make do with second place.
The 1996 European Championship runners-up need confidence
At the same time, the Czech Republic have remained consistently successful at European Championships over the past 25 years. In 2004, the number 31 in the FIFA world rankings reached the semi-finals. In 2012 and 2021, they only reached the quarter-finals.
With the exception of the 2006 finals in Germany, it just wasn’t to be with World Cups.
Only one defeat in the last six internationals
The Šilhavý eleven must do their own homework and achieve a convincing victory over Estonia at home in Prague in order to gain self-confidence for the two important play-offs in March.
In view of the fact that only the qualifying match against Belgium has been lost in the last six international matches since the elimination in the European Championship quarter-finals (three wins, two draws), the betting companies have little doubt that the Czech Republic will win the match.
Predicted line-up of Czech Republic:
Vaclik – Kalas – Novák – Coufal – Brabec – Soucek – Král – Masopust – Barák – Pavelka – Vydra
Estonia – Statistics & current form
The Estonian national football team played its first international match in 1920. However, because Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, it took until July 1992 before an independent Estonian team was on the pitch again.
However, the Sinisärgid have never been truly successful, neither before 1940 nor since 1992. The Baltic state has never before qualified for a World or European Championship.
Only four points out of a possible 21 from the seven qualifying matches
In the ongoing 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the nation coached since the beginning of the year by Switzerland’s Thomas Häberli also had little to gain in Group E. The only defeat came at home against Belarus (2). Only at home against Belarus (2:0) and away in Wales (0:0) could the Sinisärgid avoid defeat. The other five games, meanwhile, were all lost with a staggering 19 goals conceded.
Most recently, Estonia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Belgium in Brussels on Saturday. Only one of their last six internationals has been won (one draw, four defeats).
The only hopeful is just 18 years young
One of the major shortcomings of the Estonian national football team is certainly the lack of difference-makers in the ranks of the 105th-ranked team in the FIFA World Ranking. With 18-year-old Maksim Paskotsi, who is under contract with Tottenham Hotspur, there is at least one player with a well-known employer.
But in a squad in which 18 of the 25 nominated players earn their bread and butter in the comparatively insignificant Estonian league, the youngster cannot do it alone. Accordingly, there is little to be said for betting on a point win for the Sinisärgid in the Czech Republic against Estonia.
Predicted line-up of Estonia:
Igonen – Ojamaa – Mets – Tamm – Paskotsi – Teniste – Vassiljev – Kreida – Poom – Anier – Zenjov
Czech Republic – Estonia Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 4 – 0 – 0
Four times both nations have faced each other in a must-win match so far and with four wins the Czechs have won it all so far. The first leg was a 6-2 defeat for the Estonians on neutral ground in Poland.
Czech Republic – Estonia Tip
For the Czech Republic against Estonia, the prediction must take into account the fact that there is actually not much at stake for the Czechs. But it can be assumed that the Šilhavý eleven will strive for as clear a victory as possible, so that they can be full of self-confidence to win the two difficult games in March in the playoffs.
The Czechs already showed what they are capable of in the first leg when they turned around an early 0:1 deficit with four goals within 25 minutes (final score: 6:2). Accordingly, we see a lot of value in betting on a home win with a three-goal difference in the second leg.
For the Asian handicap of -2.5 on the home side, betting odds of 2.06 are available for the Czech Republic against Estonia. We invest four units in this bet at Bet365.
